By Christina Nielsen, Content Marketing Specialist, September 2025
As a leader without formal staff responsibility, you cannot hire or fire, nor do you have full control over the resources needed to deliver results. The formal power dynamic is absent. So how can you succeed in leading without authority? The answer lies in four key competencies that focus on followership, relationships, and influence rather than hierarchy.
This is explained by Lars Hemmingsen, Strategic Leadership Consultant at CfL, in CfL's podcast Ledelsesrummet.Lars Hemmingsen also teaches on CfL’s course Leading Without Formal Authority, where he increasingly meets leaders who find it attractive to step away from formal power structures. These include project managers, product managers, internal advisors, consultants, and specialists. They rely on informal authority, which they must amplify instead. But what does that mean in practice — and how do you do it?
Turning up the volume on informal authority means leading through influence rather than hierarchy. It’s about using your personal impact, clear communication, and strong relationships to inspire followership — in other words, the tools that don’t rely on formal powers such as hiring, firing, or granting pay raises.
In modern organizations, work is often structured in projects and matrix setups across the organization. This is where the informal leader operates. Lars Hemmingsen highlights four essential competencies you need to master to create results without formal authority:
1. Create followship through infomal influence
2. Build relationships with emotional intelligence
3. Use your political savvy
4. Strengthen your role with self-awareness and clarify
As an informal leader, you cannot play the “power card.” Instead, your strength lies in creating followership through clarity, authenticity, and communicating purpose—getting others to want to join you. When people choose to follow you, it’s not about obligation but about motivation. That’s why it’s crucial that you can set a clear direction and inspire others to see that the project or task you are delivering together truly matters.
Here are some examples:
A project manager cannot order the team to deliver faster — but she can bring them together, explain why the deliverable matters to the organization, and build motivation by linking the task to a greater purpose.
An internal consultant cannot demand that a department adopt a new process — but he can gain support by showing how the process saves time and reduces errors, while involving employees along the way.
A product manager cannot threaten with sanctions — but she can build cross-functional relationships, listen to concerns, and adapt her messages so that more people choose to support the process.
Keywords are followership, purpose, and motivation.
Relationships are the fuel in projects without a formal hierarchy. As a leader, you must be able to read the room, understand others’ perspectives, and adapt your behavior. Emotional Intelligence makes it possible to motivate and engage others, even when you don’t have formal authority to rely on. It’s about building trust, recognizing contributions, and being flexible in your leadership style.
At the same time, you should take advantage of being “non-threatening. Formal authority can sometimes create barriers — employees may be overly cautious about what they say to someone higher up in the hierarchy. In contrast, they may feel freer and more open when collaborating with someone who does not hold formal power. As an informal leader, you can use this to your advantage by building stronger, more genuine relationships.
Use classis leadership tools — just without the formal authority. For example: Situational Leadership were you adapt your approach to the employee’s level of commitment and competence. By providing support in the beginning and gradually allowing more responsibility, your relationship grows stronger.
Key words are empathy, authenticity, and flexibility.
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Learn to lead without formal authority by leveraging clarity and impact. This course provides you with the essential tools you need to succeed in the leadership role.
As an informal leader, you may not have access to the traditional leadership forums where decisions are made. That’s why political savvy becomes a vital skill: understanding organizational dynamics, influencing stakeholders, and finding the right timing and angle to get your messages across. It requires pragmatism, timing, and the ability to navigate complex relationships.
Nøgleord er interessentforståelse, timing og indflydelse.
Kewword is stakeholder awareness, timing, and influence.
A solid foundation for informal leadership starts from within. You need to know your own standpoint, values, and strengths — and use them actively in the role. But is everyone suited to be an informal leader? That depends on what drives the individual. Many who consciously choose this role are less motivated by interpersonal responsibilities such as tough conversations, sick leave management, or salary negotiations, and instead want to focus on the project, the cause, and the results.
As an informal leader, you play a crucial role in many organizations because you often work across departments and professional groups. This cross-functional position gives you the potential for significant influence. For it to succeed, the organization must accept that you are driven by purpose and passion. At the same time, clarity about your mandate is essential: What are you appointed to lead, and within which boundaries? When you are explicit about your role and direction, it becomes easier for others to follow you — and your credibility as a leader grows.
Keyword are self-awareness, mandate, and clarity.
Learn how to lead and facilitate one or more teams towards better performance in a motivating and effective way. Foster motivation, improve collaboration, and boost performance.